Tuesday, June 1, 2010

What is Kenny's attitude on his job? How does it compare to your experience and/or people you know?

Kenny's life as a Monfort employee for almost sixteen years was awful.He worked so hard for the company.But the company didn't care for what he did.Even he got work related injuries,there was no worker compensation for Kenny.He still worked in that company for his family and got no benefit at all.Kenny felt a strong loyalty to Monfort.After I read the story,I can't believe their lives was so terrible to survive. This job situation was causing great pain and suffering to a lot of workers by physically and emotionally.Writer visited a slaughterhouse, one of the nation's largest somewhere in the High Plains.Nobody saw what happened inside the building.There were different kind of work related issues within the building.Most workers are illegal, uneducated immigrants.They don't know their future working like this way.Also,employer speed up and force to work for their profits.Workers don't know the value of union and how to protect their safety during working hours.Working hour s was long and didn't get over time payment. There were no benefit after long time worked in factory. During his trip, writer met dozen of workers who had been injured.Each of their stories was different.Also, workers struggle to receive proper medical care. They were afraid to speaking out. They couldn't argue with their supervisor or manager.Why didn't workers challenge that situation? They didn't want to lose their job or didn't have enough information.I felt so bad for their lives.America has long been known as the "land of opportunity," and hundreds of thousands of people come to live here every year, seeking better life.So, what should we do for those workers?

I will use this sentence as my essay title. Here is my first paragraph.

Today most jobs are service jobs. Workers deal with people rather than with things. Some jobs especially in the health care industry are more correlated and demanding with emotional management.When employees control their emotions in other to display the emotions that are expected of them in workplace, they are performing emotional labor. They may do this by suppressing or hiding their real feelings and/or expressing emotions that they do not actually feel. In another words, employees may express socially accepted emotions at work. If these emotions don't fit with situational requirements and expectations, employees may be engaging in stressful condition.In long run,employee's daily physical and mental activities will deteriorate. Even after finishing work, Camelita Lester, practical nurse from Studs Terkel's book, mentions that "The works don't leave my mind. I have been so long with her that it became part of me. In my mind it's always working (502). In physical labor, workers don't need to worry except for finishing on time and making sure a good has been produced. Within the health care field,employees,especially nurses have to put on a nice smile and be compassionate to patients because nurses have to deal with humans, not machine.Nurses have to create emotion for someone Else's benefit. Nurses take their place as distinct members of the health-care team. They are in a unique position to observe patient need.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Before I was preparing for this blog, I chose the topic from contents of Terkel's working book which I wanted to write. I was curious about a life of practical nursing in America because it was part of my life.I had an experience in medical field in my country,Burma. After I read the "Practical Nurse, Old People's Home",I felt as same as Carmelita Lester. Also I heard about nursing home from my friend,who works at nursing home.In my country, the old people stay in the home until they die. Even they are old,they still get a respect and lead as a head of household.Family members follow their advice respectfully.Most old people in America stay and end in their old age alone at nursing home.In the interview,Carmelita Lester showed how's a relationship between her and an old lady whom she took care.They looked like family members and worried each other even after work. She feels sorry for everybody who cannot help themselves.Also she mentions that many of these patients,they need help, but they don't have enough help.Some patients cannot take care by themselves even for meal.All these people in nursing home are not helpless.But just the family get rid of them.Moreover, plenty of nurses don't care. If they get the money,forget it. Carmelita herself had an experience as a patient. She believes god. Got cures her illness.She really wants to help and enjoy her job. Sometime she was tired because of work overload.She cannot help everybody by herself alone. She devotes her life to patients.She doesn't expect a reward. All good and bad things exist in the world because of mind. People who offer sacred hospitality are rewarded in the same way.I am buddhist.In buddhism, if youhelp someone,god will give yourewards. The good things will come back to you.I believe in this concept and I help peoplealways when have a chance. Compassion is very important during caring patients.

How does emotional labor affect workers within the healthcare industry?

Thursday, May 6, 2010

From some documents of archive,I chose an oral interview with Mr.Tony Avena,a long time Queens resident and Queens merchant and businessman. Interviewer asked the family background and origins and the beginnings of working life in America of interviewee's father. His father was an Italian emigrant and first went into business in Manhattan.Interviewer tried to figure out as an immigrant how to survive and success the businesses and raise his children in New York. As an immigrant, I am interested that oral interview because I came to America at 1998. So we could see and compare what were the differences of economy,education and transportation.On that time, people could do everything. It seemed finding a job was more easy.Interviewee' father worked hard and finally owned stores. If you worked hard,you could have everything. Interviewee liked his school. I thought public and private school was not much different at that time.Therefore, we can conclude that the possibilities are there, they exit, they are difficult to achieve, but not impossible.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

According to "Confronting Inequality" Paul Krugman describe that the America I gerw up in was a relatively equal middle class society.Over the past thirty years, all economic benefits in America have been fallen into the rich families. Most lower and middle classes try to overcome the inequality even they have little progress of economic growth(Krugman 322).It makes more economic inequality and segregation of people between a society as a whole. Also a lot of reasons such as lack of universal health care, unequal education and opportunity continue to inequalize among the poor and rich people.It is leading to social inequality. Especially poor and middle classes have been suffered the effects of economic inequality.So, we have to concern about the negative consequences of economic inequality among different social classes.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

At the beginning of his essay, "Confronting Inequality,"(They Say, I Say) Paul Krugman asks "Why should we care about high and rising inequality? In his answer is the matter of living standard in the United States. The economic growth in America over the past thirty years has gone down. All economic benefits have been fallen into the rich families. Latest data from Congressional Budget Office shows that lower- and middle- income families' annual income is 384% different from rich families.This is a big gap between social classes. Economic inequality affects our society and our democracy.I agree with his response because today people from most of lower and middle class have been suffered the effects of economic inequality.Such as most workers get minimum wages,work more hours and spend less time for their family. People cannot afford health care for them and family members. Also they cannot give the basic education for their children.There are unequal opportunities among the rich and poor families. Finally,unemployment rate is increasing among poor- and middle- income families.